


Til death do us part

by Rykeral



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-29
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2019-01-06 23:36:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 20,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12221259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rykeral/pseuds/Rykeral
Summary: It was the wedding of the century. Or it would have been if anyone other than the invited guests, and staff, knew who exactly was getting married. The rest of the world only knew that CEO of L-Corp Lena Luthor and her fiancé Kara Danvers senior reporter of CATCO had gone away for the weekend. They didn’t know that cradled beneath clear blue skies and lush green grass in the middle of nowhere in Ireland that Lena Luthor and Supergirl, known to the gathered guests as Kara Zor-El Danvers, bound themselves together for all of time.“I love you,” Lena breathed as the final cords to the song drifted out through the speakers. “So much, Kara. I’d die for you.” Soft fingers crept along her back and gently traced the trio of scars there.“You already did,” Kara reminded her softly and they came to a halt in the middle of the dance-floor, heads pressed together and arms wound around each other.Lena hummed in agreement and the music finally faded to silence. They already knew what they would do for the other, it didn’t need to be spoken, but though Lena had survived, she still bore the marks of her sacrifice.





	1. Life

**Author's Note:**

  * For [JHeda](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JHeda/gifts).



> Birthday prompt for JHeda. Happy Birthday! I went a little off track with the first chapter, but the second one is all about Lena's birthday. Gosh, imagine dying on your birthday. Poor baby can't catch a break ;)

It was the wedding of the century. Or it would have been if anyone other than the invited guests, and staff, knew who _exactly_ was getting married. The rest of the world only knew that CEO of L-Corp Lena Luthor and her fiancé Kara Danvers senior reporter of CATCO had gone away for the weekend. They didn’t know that cradled beneath clear blue skies and lush green grass in the middle of nowhere in Ireland that Lena Luthor and Supergirl, known to the gathered guests as Kara Zor-El Danvers, bound themselves together for all of time.

It was an intimate ceremony of close friends and family and they had been flown to the venue several days in advance, or earlier that morning, depending on whether they could fly themselves or not.

Thorul was the name given to the estate by Lena as a joke. A play on her name while she sobbed over a bottle of sixty-year-old whiskey the day Lex was arrested and she had learnt the location of her blood relatives-rather, where she had been born.

The P.I she’d hired told her everything. The names of her ancestors, their struggles, their joys and pains, their work. She even learnt of some distant relations that lived in the same city she had grown up in-before Lionel had plucked her away on a business trip to Dublin.

She had found where she had come from, and what her ancestors had done. They had worked and owned a tavern near a castle, the name of which long lost to the tombs of time, and saw to the needs of travellers to and from the castle, and supplied the locals with alcohol and a good meal. Their sons had also worked as labourers in the castle and their daughters had been maids and servants.

As time had passed they had remained in the city as bakers and then restaurateurs.

Lena’s birth mother had gotten a scholarship to go to America and had attended Metropolis University and had fallen pregnant while interning for some scientist. Her career had been put on hold while she had her daughter and she returned to Ireland with her. She had been born Tess Mercer on the 22nd of September 1993. She had a few dental records and one or two kindergarten certificates, but otherwise she had been nothing extraordinary. Until her mother had died in a car crash by a drunk driver- that had featured in the local paper, a blurry picture of a totalled car- and then she had been carted off to an orphanage. Her records were hazy after that, but she had always known that Lionel had been visiting orphanages for charity and had seen her and loved her instantly. She had found a new home from then on.

Still. With Lex’s betrayal and her mothers stoicism and the burden of the Luthor dynasty going to fall on her own shoulders, Lena had, in a moment of weakness, looked up the place she had been born.

It was a small town in the middle of Ireland with a main industry of farming, fishing, and, not-surprisingly, Whiskey. It didn’t have a large population, but there were enough people who remembered little Tess Mercer, when the P.I asked, and recalled her and her mother with fondness.

There had been a link down the page detailing a sale; a large farm with an old castle and grounds in need of a lot of love and care, and Lena, after learning it was the castle her family had once partnered with, had purchased the property immediately. It was a large farm, and relatively successful, depending on the price of wool, lamb, and mutton, but it was the castle and grounds that had made her buy it.

She had immediately set the farm to an agent, to be maintained and worked to a high standard for the animals and land, with the agent seeing to it however they saw fit, with a quarterly email to Lena on its progress, and ad then looked at the castle and grounds.

It was crumbling and overgrown, just like the stables, barn, and gate-house. On that same night, drowning in loss and pain, alone, she had poured money into the project and demanded its restoration, hoping, perhaps, that if someone gave some love and time to the property it could find its place in the world, be valued once again. She hadn’t thought about what that meant for herself.

And then she forgot about it, let some-one she had hired to restore it restore it while she shouldered Luthor Corp as the families reputation crumbled. Lex was eventually sentenced and Lena, the youngest CEO of a fortune five-hundred company at twenty went from interim CEO to actual CEO at twenty-three, leaving her in charge of billions of dollars’ worth of money and thousands of employees. She later told Kara that she had forgotten the entire project until she had received an email telling her that the estate had been restored but part of the castle could not be-and would she like to select the plan for redesign?

Kara had been thrilled and also amused that Lena owned ‘a castle, Lena! An actual castle!’ and had immediately demanded they visit. They had, and Lena had picked what she wanted for the rest of the castle, and the project manager had almost wet himself with excitement- an unlimited budget and enough political clout to convince Heritage Ireland to let the owner do whatever they wanted with the property. Read; enough money to get them to shut up and back off.

Three years later and the estate was welcome to the public and hired out to weddings and groups- there was horse riding, archery, a track for motorbikes, a small lake, a section of river, and of course, there was enough land that hiking, hunting, and trekking wasn’t a problem, provided the guests respected the farmer and the livestock on the property.

Kara had insisted they get married here, and Lena hadn’t been willing to argue. So it was settled. Kara and Lena, and their guests, had made sure that the estate was hired for them for the week, and had planned their wedding.

The ceremony was taking place in the garden outside the castle. It was lush and bright and colourful, like much of Ireland in the spring, and the white of the three chairs set out on either side of the isle was a stark, but lovely, contrast.

There was a gazebo in the centre with a strong foundation with flowers all around, and three steps to the floor. The white pillars had been ribboned in white roses and they hung from the top beams in delicate bundles. The wooden roof domed gently and someone-probably Maggie- had placed an ‘S’ shaped bundle of the same roses on the top, visible the moment you approached the gazebo.

Usually there was a bench and chairs and often guests would read or take their meals here, surrounded by the flowers and birds, but today it had been cleared.

There was no one waiting at the alter for the bride, not at this wedding, instead the guests slowly moved into position at ten to four. The afternoon sun was peaking of the top of the castle and lighting the garden with its radiance, and the white of the chairs, paint of the gazebo, and of the flowers were cast in an orange hue. It was magnificent.

Cat Grant was on the far left at the end, and she looked sleek in a short navy blue dress and had been sipping at a lute while trading barbs with the dark-haired woman next to her. Lois Lane was wearing a beautiful green blouse with sharp black slacks and the green of her shirt matched the tie the man in front of her was wearing.

Clark Kent was in a smart black suit with a green tie which he adjusted nervously and Lois had to stand and straighten it for him, ignoring Cat’s murmured commentary on it.

“You’ll do fine,” Lois smiled and kissed him gently on the cheek before wiping it away. His returning smile was goofy and almost everyone heard Cat’s eye-roll. Lois snarked back at her while Clark looked over at Jimmy Olsen, the other man on the chair and he looked handsome in a black suit and tie and he had his camera set on the grass besides him.

“You ready?” James asked with a smile and Clark let out his breath nervously and nodded.

“Just don’t screw up, “Winn Schott grinned as he marched down the aisle with a tablet tucked under his arm.

Clark rolled his eyes. “Don’t _you_ screw up,” he said warningly and Winn swallowed, even though the threat was in jest.

“ _No_ one is going to screw up,” Jess said firmly from the other side of the isle, on the first seat on the right-hand side. She was wearing a long, flowing dress with flowers on it and looked lovely, but her narrowed eyes as she threatened men twice as tall as her would have comedic if not for the fact that Lena’s secretary and friend hadn’t spent weeks comforting her boss-come-friend over the entire wedding. No one was willing to pick a fight with Lena’s feisty PA, not even Superman.

A chorus of ‘Yes, Ma’am’s’ echoed in the garden and Jess gave a pleased nod while Maggie Sawyer-Danvers, on her other side, folded her arms and nudged.

“I don’t think I’ve seen grown men pale so fast,” she grinned and settled back on the chair. Jess sniffed in response and tossed her hair back.

“Lena’s been stressing over today for months,” she emphasised and gave a little nod. “It is going to go off without a hitch.” She said it so, that if it would be by her will alone, then it would be.

Eliza, looking lovely in a light blue dress, quickly came down the aisle and she was beaming and looked like she had already touched her make-up since she had done it earlier.

“Is everything ready?” She asked almost breathlessly and didn’t wait for confirmation. “Places!”

There was a shuffle of activity and everyone rose from their seats and made sure their clothes were straight and everything was in place.

Winn checked his watch and pressed a button on his tablet while James darted down the aisle to get into position, camera at the ready as music emerged over the speakers.

Lena and Kara had decided to make use of the wedding carriages Thorul had, and as CATCO would be doing a feature on the wedding, it was a plug for the estate. Fortunately there were two carriages, one with an open top and the other was like Cinderella’s carriage, and each were pulled by a duo of white horses.

They could hear the horses first, the clip clop of hooves, and then the carriage pulled up at the isle and Lena was guided down from it by a woman in a tux, dark hair pulled back.

She said something to Lena, and the tight, nervous smile on her features eased and she barked a laugh, caught on camera for eternity, then the two turned and started to walk down the aisle. There was a small, flying box hovering in the air, and it glided slowly around the bride and best-woman as they walked down the aisle.

Alex Danvers was tall and proud and grinning and up the front Eliza shed a slight tear and Maggie gave a wolf whistle.

“Looking good!”

It was hard to tell who she was praising. Her wife was smart in a navy tux with a white rose at her breast pocket and black heels. She was navigating the grass with slightly less grace than the bride next to her, but Lena Luthor had been trained since she was young to be nothing shy of grace and elegance, and appeared to glide along the grass.

Her dress was something that had been speculated for months, ever since the two had announced their engagement via a picture on twitter, and no one had even come close to the design. It was long sleeved and lacy, the patterns woven together and looking like they formed little ‘S’s in the fabric as it moved up her arms. It flared out across her breasts and dipped down, showing a generous amount of skin, but nothing short of elegant sensuality. The lacy pattern hugged her rib cage and then spread out across the top of her thighs but ended there, letting the pure white fabric of her dress fall to the ground without aid. She was wearing minimal, natural eye make-up and jewellery, with silver and diamond jewels and pale, pink lipstick.

The back of Lena’s dress followed the curve of her shoulder-blades and dipped down to her lower back, showing three, small puckered scars, not hidden by the tumble of raven locks down her back. She was serene, a darker kind of beauty, something found only by those who went looking for it, a beauty most didn’t see. The moon, when all anyone could see were the stars or the sun.

Alex cast a nervous glance at the woman at her side only to find Lena smiling gently at Maggie as they drew even with the chairs. “Flattered, but uninterested, Detective. I’m a soon to be married woman, after all.” Her lips were split into a smile that couldn’t contain her joy.

The crowd chuckled in appreciation and watched with bright eyes as Alex guided her to the gazebo and stood nearby- sniffing just a little.

James quickly snapped a few more photos before bolting back down the aisle, nearly tripping over his shoes, which drew sympathetic laughter from his friends, before taking up position near the grass again.

Kara had arrived. Her carriage was dainty and pretty, with doors and windows and it was affectionately called the pumpkin carriage because of how it resembled the carriage Cinderella rode in.

The man that escorted Kara from the carriage was tall and broad-shouldered and the usual stern crease to his brow was absent as he beamed at his adoptive daughter.

Kara was radiant as she stepped down from the carriage, the piano and violin music accompanying their walk down the aisle- Canon in D- but prepared and played by Lena herself weeks earlier and recorded by Winn. He also had their first dance song in his tablet, ready for the moment.

Kara closed her eyes momentarily to enjoy the sound as J’onn offered her his arm and she glowed like a second sun as she was escorted down the aisle.

James ducked ahead of them and took some pictures, making sure everything was perfect before speeding to his next position. It had been an honour, and privilege to be asked to photograph the event, and he would’ve been offended if Kara and Lena had asked anyone else, but it did mean he had to be on his toes.

Kara’s dress was more in line with what the media and internet had speculated hers would be, though neither of the brides were wearing a suit like some had thought. It was sleeveless, strapless with a soft heart shape over her breasts and was simple, with no lace to speak of. The only addition to the dress was a band of diamante stones along her waste, a subtle ‘S’s in the centre, and a dainty patter across her breasts, but it was no less beautiful than Lena’s one. The skirt of her dress was wider than Lena’s, spread out around here where as Lena’s went directly down her body and gave her a sizable train. Her jewellery was also more elaborate than Lena’s, she had a few silver bangles on her left arm, with her right bare, and had feather-like diamonds at her ears and a necklace that followed the curve of her collar to rest above her breasts. Her hair was also down, a surprising move for a woman who kept it up constantly, but her glasses were in place and it had been decided that if it did look too much like Supergirl in a dress, they’d change the photo’s at a later time.

Catching sight of Lena she nearly faltered but J’onn’s presence kept her steady and there was no typical Kara Danvers clumsiness as she nearly dragged J’onn up the aisle to her fiancé.

Lena laughed softly and gave a little shake of her head but her eyes were glowing, somehow green and gold in the sunlight and by the garden around them, as she gazed at her beloved.

“A bit lighter,” J’onn J’onzz grunted and Kara loosened her hold on his arm with an apologetic wince but he shook it off. There was another air-borne box flying above the two and this one, instead of staying with the bride like Lena’s one had, glided back and forth in front of the guests. Sometimes turning to face the gazebo but with its primary focus on the reactions of the guests. Eliza was already crying and Maggie handed her a tissue.

J’onn took up position opposite Alex and grinned at her before they both looked at Kara and Lena. The two had taken each others hands and were staring at each other as though they were the only two people in the world.

“Have I told you I love you today?” Lena asked quietly, hid tilting to the side in thought and Kara’s smile, if possible, widened.

“Not recently. Tell me again?” She enquired and her voice became serious. “I’ve forgotten what it sounds like.”

Drawn forward almost like magnets the two women leant towards each other, heads tilting.

Clark cleared his throat and was rewarded with Lena rolling her eyes at him and lifting a brow but he gave a little shrug as Winn cut the music. Kara just pouted.

“You can kiss in a minute,” he said with faux seriousness and straightened his shoulders authoritatively.

“Oh, we will,” Lena said and waggled her eyebrows for effect. Kara giggled and tried to smoothen her features but couldn’t.

Clark sighed and glanced skyward briefly in a ‘why me?’ gesture.

“Oh-kay,” Clark said and cleared his throat. “To begin.”

“Wait!” Lena said suddenly and Kara looked concerned as she pulled her hand away and brought it to her mouth for a sharp whistle. “Krypto,” she explained and Kara looked a little sheepish.

“Opps.”

A bark sounded and then there was a blur and a great white dog was before them, a leather case in his mouth. He was wearing a navy collar and looked very smart as he sat patiently at the brides feet.

“Right.” Clark began again, glancing out at the gathered guests, before returning his attention to the brides.

Clark had been honoured when Lena and Kara asked him to officiate, and he had immediately begun the process of becoming a licenced official. They had explained that they wanted some earthly customs and some Kryptonian customs, and that Clark was the best one to do it for them. He had nearly cried but instantly agreed and had spoken with Kara and Kalex with length on how to merge the two ceremonies.

It merged together seamlessly and when the two were asked to say their vows, Lena went first.

“ _Kara Zor-El Danvers_. _You are more than I could dream of_ ,” she said, easing into Kryptonese with the familiarity of one born to the language, and a tear ran down Kara’s face. Lena took a moment to cup her cheek and wipe it away before continuing, returning her hand to Kara’s hold. “ _You are more than I deserve and I will spend the rest of my life trying to be worthy, of your love and your light._ “

Kara moistened her lips as though to protest but Lena squeezed her hands and she remained quiet. “ _You have taught me how to forgive, to hope, to love. And I promise to be at your side always. To be there when you need me. To be your friend, companion, teacher, and student. I promise to explore the world with you, grow with you, learn with you. I will fight for you, fight with you, and heal with you. You have my heart, Kara. You are my hero. In every way. I promise, come what may, that you will always have a place with me, at my side and in my heart_.”

Lena’s voice caught for a moment and she swallowed her emotion and lifted her and Kara’s joined hands and pressed them over her chest. “ _You make me happier than I ever thought possible and you’ve given me more love than I knew. And I will stand with you against all adversaries and through joy and pain and sorrow. And I will wear your crest and the world, and you, will know that I love you, that I have the privilege of loving you_. _Your love makes me stronger.”_

She lifted their joined hands from her chest and placed a gentle kiss on Kara’s knuckles. _“I love you, Kara Zor- El.”_ She waited a moment and then added, “ _And I also promise that you can have the last potsticker.”_

Kara gave a watery laugh and darted forward to press a kiss to her cheek before stepping back and blinking her tears away. Their friends and family were chuckling at the joke, knowing that Kara would always pout if Lena took the last posticker, but wouldn’t fight her on it like she would anyone else. It had been one of the clues to their relationship before they announced it- Kara didn’t just let food go without protest, but for Lena she did.

Kara had to work her mouth for a long moment before she could finally speak and when she did it was with typical Kara tact. “ _Lena…..”_ she said softly, eyes gentle and loving on her bride and Lena smiled back at her, love reflected in her eyes. “ _I_ -“ she paused and cupped Lena’s cheek and stroked the skin there. “ _When you were talking earlier….. I had a speech planned, you know_ ,” she said and gave a little nervous chuckle. “ _Alex helped me write it_.”

Alex grinned and winked and Kara looked back at Lena, unable to keep her eyes off her for long. “ _But hearing you say yours…._ ” She trailed off and shook her head gently and finally lowered her hand. “ _You don’t know how I see you_ ,” she said softly, obviously deciding to throw her entire speech away, if the slight frown on Alex’s face was anything to go by. “ _Rao, I wish you could. I wish you could see how strong and smart and kind and generous and beautiful you are.”_

Lena didn’t reply, knowing she and Kara had discussed this before, but not since before they had gotten engaged over a year ago.

“ _It makes me so mad_ ,” Kara said softly, not trace of anger entering her tone, only love and Lena’s eyes twitched in confusion. “ _That a heart like yours let itself believe that there was no light in it, that it wasn’t capable of powering entire worlds on its love and hope alone_.” Kara gave a little disbelieving shake of her head. “ _I hate that the world did this to you, when you are the strongest person I know. You have done amazing things, Lena. And you’re gonna change the world, more than I ever could, and I can’t wait to be there at your side when you do and when you finally let yourself believe in who you are. A kind and smart and patient and generous, loving woman. And I promise that I will spend the rest of my life showing you that, showing you just how big your heart is and how it shines.”_ Lena’s eyes were glassy and open and vulnerable and Kara blinked back her own tears so she could see her better, but she didn’t need her eyes to see her. She already saw Lena for what she was. Her hope. Her heart, and she told her so.

“ _You made me believe_ ,” Kara said softly, and shook her head a little in wonder. “ _You gave me hope in me_ ,” she emphasised. “ _You never saw the cape, you just saw me and I was your hero. Me, just plain old… me_.”

Lena opened her mouth to protest, unable to let this go as she had with the earlier comments but Kara placed a finger on her lips. “ _You did, though_ ,” she added softly, eyes burning with emotion. “ _You made Kara believe she was special, that she could be someone’s hero as her, not as Supergirl. That she could be your hero. And you’re mine_ ,” she said simply, giving a little shrug of her shoulders and lowering her finger from Lena’s lips. “ _You are my hero, Lena Luthor. And I love you. Rao, I love you! You are my light. My sun_. _You are my home and I will always love you and spend the rest of my days prying you away from work when its late, and flying to Paris for your favourite soup when you’re sick, and figuring out ways to make you laugh, and doing anything to see you smile. I’ll show you that I love you. Every day.”_

Lena gve a little sniffle but steadied her breathing and didn’t let herself cry. Kara didn’t have any restraints, she wiped away a tear.

Clark was a little teary-eyed himself and had to compose himself to speak his next lines. “In the name of truth and honour I declare these marriage vows binding upon you! From this day forward, throughout all time and space, and even into eternity….”

Krypto, who had been waiting patiently for the vows to finish, stood up on his hind-legs so that Clark could take the box from his mouth. “Thanks, buddy,” he said and gave him a little pat, and he went to each of the brides for some love before sitting down in front of them smartly.

Clark ignored the drool on the box and opened it. Kryptonian tradition stated that a marriage band be worn on the arm of the betrothed; Kara and Lena had decided on both. Lena and Kara Danvers would were a ring and a bracelet, but Supergirl would leave hers whenever she changed. It was a hard decision, but one that had to be made.

Kara had them made especially. Silver and green for her, and blue and gold for Lena, each representing the others wife. The motto of the House of El, El Mayarah-Stronger together- was engraved in each, and the motto Kara had decided best suited Lena; Tuv Shesur nahn diviehl- the spirit of light, or the rising of the sun-eternal. Lena hadn’t seen them yet. She knew that Kara was doing it, and that she wanted Lena to wear one as a symbol of their union, but she didn’t know what they looked like.

Kara took her one for Lena from the case and held it up for inspection. It was beautiful, the gold was carved in traditional symbols and runes in Kryptonese as well as the ‘S’ and her house motto on the underside. And connected to the phrase was the one she had decided fit Lena. She had etched them herself, with her vision, and it had taken her weeks of practice, to get the strength right, and to get the patters. But it was worth it. It was a beautiful piece of art, a symbol of their union, and her fingers trembled as she offered it to Lena.

Lena’s lips parted in awe and she looked at it with wonder as Kara tilted it in the light so she could read it. Her mouth formed the words silently and then she smiled gently over at Kara and gave a little nod, and Kara beamed as she slid it onto Lena’s wrist.

It went with her dress, even though it was gold, and Kara felt her heart beat powerfully in her chest at the sight of Lena wearing her crest and her wedding band, gold and blue. Lena was hers. Always.

Lena took Kara’s off the velvet case and looked it over. It was a perfect match for Kara’s, only the metal was silver and the gem was emerald, instead of gold and sapphire. She slid it onto Kara’s arm without hesitating and something in Kara’s chest settled at the knowledge that they were bond, together, forever.

Then they exchanged rings, made almost exactly the same as the marriage bracelets and then took each other’s hands, smiling all the while.

“Made wife and wife this day- and for all days hence. Maye the countenance of Rao shine on you.” Clark said strongly and beamed at them both, folding the case with a snap.

“You may kiss-hpmph,” Clark sighed as the two brides couldn’t wait a moment longer and pressed their lips together.

The audience cheered in response and Alex discreetly wiped a tear. Eliza wasn’t hiding her tears and Lois was teasing Cat Grant. “Don’t be ridiculous, Lane,” Cat was snarling. “It’s the blooming Irish weeds. Allergies, you see.”

Lois’ laugh was disbelieving but she allowed the comment to pass.

The two wives pulled away and spent an eternity gazing into each other’s eyes before Krypto, who had been very patient so far, decided it was time to get some attention. He politely pressed his head between them, coming up to their waists and nosed in as though the two wouldn’t notice him. He was gentle about it, but firm, and when they pulled apart to look at him, he gave his doggy smile and woofed politely.

Lena and Kara laughed in unison and gave him some attention before facing the camera. They were beaming, joy obvious, as they accepted their bouquets back from J’onn and Alex and glanced at each other before tossing them up into the air. A careful, controlled gust of ice-breath from Kara and they were soaring through the air. Krypto wined and with permission from Lena, ‘Go, boy!’ gave a great bark and leapt into the air after them.

Laughing Lena leant against Kara and slid her arm through Kara’s and they slowly walked the three steps to the grass.

The two of them walked back down the aisle as Krypto floated back down to the ground, flowers chewed in his mouth and tail a-wag.

Winn pressed a button on his tablet and they were escorted out to Westlife’s Beautiful in white, one of Lena’s favourite songs, and a perfect one for the occasion. Jess and Eliza were the witnesses, and Clark gave them the paper they needed to sign as the group drew ahead of them.

The precession returned to their pre-arranged photography sites and they ran through the usual photos, but as there were so few of them, they were done very quickly.

Then they headed for the castle and entered the stairs through four pillars and two large oak doors with metal brackets set into the wood. They were already open and letting the spring air into the building and they walked through the halls on large carpets, handwoven, and into the dining room. They passed stands with vases, and old paintings of landscapes and horses, hunts and dogs, and there were even some weapons on the walls.

She had been careful when she designed the air-conditioning and the sprinklers for the building, and it was hidden beneath the restored façade of the place, but was completely up to code. Each room had power and plumbing and could access the Wi-Fi. And the bigger rooms even had their own televisions, but that was only for the master and special guest bedrooms.

They passed by the kitchens, where the most delicious smells were coming, and James had to grab Krypto by the collar and drag him away from the staff, as they were unaccustomed to the begging eyes of the intelligent dog and would give in to his demands. Even Kara kept her head turned to the kitchen as they walked past and Lena had to slap her wife gently on the arm.

Kara pouted but couldn’t maintain it for long as they took another corridor and came to the dining room. It was already laden with food and the joy carried on as the alien’s especially saw the amount of food on the table. There was even a pile of meat for Krypto.

Kara raced the dog to the table and everyone laughed when she was nearly bowled over by the exuberant dog, and she glared at him a moment before being distracted by the food. They sat in no particular order, but with Lena and Kara together.

There was roast pork and chicken and lamb with mint sauce. There was steak and stew, and a few different salads for those health inclined, like Maggie, Lena and Cat, though Lois was overheard egging Cat on into having some potato instead of her salad leaf.

They ate as day descended into dusk and then Kara, when she was certain Lena had had her full, pulled her out of a conversation with Cat about people they knew in the CEO Business.

Her ring was obvious as she held her hand out for Lena to take and Lena accepted the offer with grace and rose to her feet.

She tugged gently and, after sharing appointed glance with Winn, led her through the halls and towards the ballroom.

The ballroom had been Lena’s one condition for the castle, and Heritage Ireland had been unable to fight her on it when she insisted that her castle would have it or… she would withdraw her funding from the organisation and there would be tragic accident to the castle resulting in it crumbling in on itself. Of course she had been much more polite in her email, she had told Alex and Maggie over drinks, but Alex had Winn hack the organisation and get the letter. Lena’s threats had been subtle but brilliant in it, and the reader knew what she was threatening, but there was no evidence of a threat. So Lena got her ballroom and Heritage Ireland got to keep their sizable donation and the restoration of the rest of the castle to historic standards. It was a win-win, they decided, but Lena came out on top.

She had gone through a Disney obsession when she was younger, Lena had explained once to Kara, before her mother had found out and banned them from the house. Lex and her used to sneak the films while Lillian was out of the house, and one of the ones that had stuck out for Lena had been Beauty and the Beast, in particular the iconic song and dance between the Beast and Belle. And when she had realised she had purchased an actual castle, like she were some sort of princess, she had instantly returned to that movie and had demanded the ballroom be added. It had already been a state-room, for entertaining visiting guests and such, which was why it didn’t require too much structural change both inside and out of the room, so it had been an easy condition to push.

They entered through handsome wooden doors with golden handles and patterns on the outside- the first obvious sign that the room ahead was different than the rest of the castle.

Lena paused at the door and just stared about her in awe- it was different seeing it in pictures than in real life.

Candle-light from the great chandeliers in the ceiling cast an amber glow on the marble floor and made the gold patterns inlaid in the floor seem as though they were on fire. White pillars with golden petals at the foot and stand held the arching ceiling and great open windows looked out over the garden, fields, and down to the ocean.

There was a piano in the corner by one of the windows, black and sleek with a weird box on the top of it, and in between the pillars there were seats against the wall.

“Wow,” she whispered and Kara pulled her gently into the room and their dresses were lit with the radiance of twilight.

“My Lady,” Kara said with a soft smile and bowed over her hand playfully. “May I have this dance?”

Lena giggled and curtsied, playing along and over in the corner Winn pressed a button on his tablet.

Over at the piano the box flicked to life and a beam of light and colour shot out from it to sit at the piano-it was Kara.

Lena turned back to her wife and Kara pulled her gently closer as music emerged from the speakers and the hologram at the keyboard moved over the keys.

“Winn helped me with it,” Kara breathed as the two slowly moved through the traditional Kryptonian steps. Lena had been taught by Clark until she could dance in her sleep and Kara spun them around the dance floor as her own voice sung through the speakers.

“ _I found a love for me. So darling just dive right in and follow my lead_.”

“Perfect,” she whispered as she pressed her forehead to Lena’s a moment before spinning away and she heard Lena’s laugh.

“Dork,” Lena smiled and they were drawn together again, always coming back to each other like they always would.

“I love you,” Lena breathed as the final cords to the song drifted out through the speakers. “So much, Kara. I’d die for you.” Soft fingers crept along her back and gently traced the trio of scars there.

“You already did,” Kara reminded her softly and they came to a halt in the middle of the dance-floor, heads pressed together and arms wound around each other.

Lena hummed in agreement and the music finally faded to silence. They already knew what they would do for the other, it didn’t need to be spoken, but though Lena had survived, she still bore the marks of her sacrifice.

“At least I told you I loved you first.”

Kara snorted. “You were dying,” her hands contracted around the woman in her arms in memory as though she could keep her safe from the past, and the future. “I let you have that.”

Lena sniggered and pressed a gentle kiss to Kara’s lips. ”You keep telling yourself that, darling.”

Kara grinned in response and kissed her on the nose and their audience cheered and clapped and Krypto barked.

“I present,” Winn said in his best impression of an announcer, voice deep and powerful, and they reluctantly pulled away from each other and faced their friends and family- together. “Mrs and Mrs Kara and Lena Danvers-Luthor!”


	2. Death

 

Lena had given more thought to her own mortality in recent years than she ever had in her life. Death seemed to be knocking on her door with the frequency of a vacuum salesman; unwanted and unnecessary and something she certainly didn’t have time for. As it was, she received death threats weekly; she knew it, even if her security team only passed on the credible threats and kept quiet on the other ones. So death and her were well acquainted with each other, even though they had never met. Sure she had been shot at, tossed of her balcony, blown up, and countless other things that people had tried to kill her. Each time she prevailed, sometimes by herself and other times with help. Help in the form of a glorified girl-scout in blue and red and a smile. Supergirl.

Her working partnership with the hero was…. Nearing friendship, she had liked to think. She had proven herself a steadfast ally and a supporter of justice and peace and equal rights for all beings on earth, and she had stepped up to save their intergalactic neighbours. Supergirl in turn had looked past her last name and had seen her for the woman she was and had protected and supported her in kind. They were well on their way to friendship, the Luthor and the Super, when Lena had died. And it had only been then that she realised she knew who Supergirl was…. And that was the woman she was telling that she loved her. Kara.

And she had died, died as Kara had cried and held her as she bled out and proclaimed her own love right back. She died on the day she told Kara she loved her, on the day she found out that Kara and Supergirl were one and the same. She died on the day she was born, twenty-five years later. Lena died on her birthday, 22nd of September 2018.

It was a Saturday like any other. She had the weekend off, something she had started doing at her Kara’s insistence, and with her stock prices higher than they had been in years, and public opinion on the same trend, Lena had felt secure enough to do so. She still had enough work to see her working an easily eight to seven work-day, but she had gradually started to cut back and even leave when her employees did- which had been a major shock. She hadn’t known what to do without work; rebuilding the name and company and saving the world, and had been terribly lost.

Kara had saved her though. She had dragged her, quite _literally_ at first, out of her apartment and out into the city. They’d visited museums, gone to concerts, gallery’s, aquariums, taken shelter dogs for walks in the park, gone bowling and to the movies, and had countless breakfast, brunch, lunch, afternoon tea, and dinners, and really, any excuse for food, together. Lena was still in awe of how much Kara managed to eat and maintain her figure.

Her day had been regular enough; an early morning with her work-out and post work-out smoothie followed by a few work emails and then she had sketched some designs for a new portable hover-camera that had reached the top of her ‘to do’ list. She and Kara had a not-date date in the evening, they were going to some comedy show, one of the popular ones brought across from London, after their reservation at ‘Our House’, one of National City’s finest restaurants.

Kara had sent her a message earlier in the day, a ‘ _so xcited 2 c u l8r!!!!!1’_ followed by an array of emoji’s that had become common place in their text thread. For a reporter Kara loved text slang and her use of emoji images seemed to belong more to a teenager on a sugar high rather than an adult with a real job.

On the news Supergirl had been fighting the villain of the week, some genetically engineered human/alien hybrid, something the CADMUS had probably created, which seemed somewhat hypercritical of them. Lena kept the television on mute while she worked, classical music playing in the background as she calculated the thrust needed to lift her camera drone. It was a familiar idea, but she wanted to put her own twist on it, making it smaller than the drones her competitors had made, and having only the highest quality camera and microphone duo on the market. She wanted it to be silent and have over twenty-four hours of hover time, and have it recognise voices and faces and follow them.

Her initial idea was a remark Kara had made to her about Supergirl, saying that people didn’t understand what the hero went through, and if they could see what she saw, then maybe they would understand why she fought for them, why she believed in them. It was enough to get Lena thinking. What if she could design software that would be able to track Supergirl, or anyone else, via facial recognition and show their daily lives as though they were on television. It had developed from her initial thought, programming the device to follow the user and then keep to a predetermined path while filming everything that happened. With it she would negate the need for selfie sticks or expensive drones. Everything could be controlled via a smart-phone, or at least that was her sales pitch. When she had the prototype completed.

Her morning edged into afternoon and she had made herself a brie and chicken panini while she caught up with the latest analysis from the L-Corp servers. Supergirl was still fighting the threats and she made a mental note to enquire for the heroes health when she saw Kara later on. Agents in black were on sight, helping the hero with the already defeated threats, but it appeared that whoever had released them had released a lot of them, a half dozen at least. And each appeared to be able to hold their own with Supergirl for a good while. The Super was getting the run around, that was for sure, but they were destroying an empty sports stadium in their battle, so far there had been no casualties.

She was sipping a glass of water when Supergirl was thrown into the VIP box, and appeared a few moments later at the giant hole holding one of those foam hands and waved it cheekily at her attacker, daring it forward. She tossed the hand aside and flew forward to collide with the beast in mid-air and they went spiralling to the ground, digging a great groove in the already torn field.

Lena wondered if perhaps L-Corp could make a sizable donation to the rebuild in order to build public opinion, and please her employees as she was certain she had seen those colours on Jim from IT’s coffee cup, but then decided against it. American sporting heroes and their clubs shouldn’t be short of money, and her donation would be better spent for a charity where the workers didn’t earn in the tens of millions a year.

Supergirl won the battle as Lena was soldering some metal together in her private lab and she sent an email to her PR department in case the press decided to ask for Lena Luthor’s opinion on the fight. That done she went back to her project and she tinkered with it until her alarm on her phone let her know she needed to get ready for dinner.

She had already selected her outfit; tailor black slacks that buckled at her waist, black heels, a white blouse, and a light peach coloured jacket that was designed to never button up. She’d added a nice black watch and a Pandora bracelet on the other hand, with simple earrings and a tear-drop necklace.

One of her black designer bags completed her outfit and she snatched her aviators before she left her apartment.

Her driver was waiting for her and she sent a text to Kara to let her know she was on her way.

Traffic was minimal, obviously people were scared after the fight between Supergirl and the other creatures, and the journey to Kara’s apartment was faster than usual.

Kara was waiting downstairs and waved when she saw the familiar car pull up, even though she couldn’t see Lena. Lena could see her though, through her tinted, bullet-proof windows, and she couldn’t hide her smile at seeing her friend.

Kara was wearing black jeans and a grey plaid shirt and had rolled her sleeves up to her elbows and when she opened the door Lena nearly fainted at the sight.

“Lena! Hi!” Kara beamed and slid into the car with her messenger bag on her lap and adjusted her glasses.

“Hello, Kara,” Lena cleared her throat and gave Kara her most genuine smile, ignoring how that outfit had sent her insides fluttering.

“How was your day?” Kara asked as she did her belt and fixed Lena with her typical hopeful, happy smile, and Lena, who would normally avoid answering the question truthfully, ducked her shoulder a moment and told Kara how she had spent her day.

“I hope Supergirl is okay,” she added, enquiring after the health of the cities caped protector.

Kara gave a nervous laugh and pressed her glasses further up her nose as she always did when Lena brought up the hero. Were Kara not so blatantly straight Lena would have suspected Kara had a crush on National City’s darling.

“Ye-eah,” Kara said and moistened her lips and smiled at Lena. “She’s okay. Just resting up.”

Lena nodded pleased. “Good,” she smiled and glanced out the window. “I hope you’re hungry,” she said as she changed the subject. “’Our House’ apparently has the largest meat and sea-food menu in the city- it’s their selling point. I’m looking forward to the lamb.”

Kara’s head snapped around and her eyes widened. “We’re going to ‘Our House’?!” Lena winced slightly. Dogs were perhaps the only ones able to hear Kara’s excitement.

Kara slunk back a little when she saw just how loud she had been but Lena shook her head fondly at her friend. “I hope you’ve bought your appetite.”

Kara nodded eagerly, eyes already glazed, perhaps thinking of the pile of food that would soon be before her.

They were discussing the latest celebrity scandal, something Lena would look up to allow her to know what Kara was speaking about when she would go on about the latest headlines, when they pulled up to the restaurant. Lena had instructed her driver to park at a slight distance from the restaurant so they could walk in and not draw as much attention to themselves. Kara got uncomfortable around cameras, and it was something little that Lena was willing to do. She could walk a hundred metres or so if it meant Kara would feel better.

They emerged from the car to little fan-fare; indeed no one even noticed them, and then, arms linked, walked towards the restaurant. They passed a saloon, convenience store, pharmacy, and a shoe store before Kara opened the door for them both and lead them into the restaurant.

It was vibrating with energy, a low hum of constant noise coupled with delicious smells. It took a waitress a moment to see to them, but Lena had already booked a table in the back and they were seated quickly. Kara’s head followed a steaming steak as it was walked past them, and she very nearly walked into a chair, but Lena guided her on a clear path.

They were left to decide on drinks and a meal and Kara’s eyes moved side to side in a comedic fashion as she scanned the menu. Lena had already decided on the lam but pursued it curiously, wondering if Kara would go for the chicken or perhaps the pork. She also noted a few of the sides and wondered if it would be too greedy of her to request a side of mushrooms with her main. The flavours would clash, but she wasn’t too concerned. She enjoyed mushrooms and was looking forward to the lamb.

“Have you made a decision?” Lena enquired and folded her menu on the table, sipping at a glass of water. “Or were you planning on ordering one of everything?” Kara flushed in the face of her amusement as Lena referenced their last evening out when Kara hadn’t been able to decide and had ordered lamb, pork, chicken and a steak, with the full sides and extra’s. Her friend’s appetite was truly horrifying at times. Though Lena was not blind to Kara being able to work it off.

The tight button-ups and jeans may have tried to conceal Kara’s fit physique but that didn’t mean that Lena had put the signs together; a flex of an arm there, reaching for a glass over there, even going so far as to ask Kara to carry some things for her to test her theory. Yes; Kara Danvers was very fit. Lena had considered asking Kara to run with her, or even join her for spin class or box-fit- she hadn’t thought Kara would be into Yoga or palates, but had eventually decided against it.

Kara had never mentioned working out, or even referencing going for a run, so Lena had figured her fitness was something Kara liked to keep private. Privately Lena feared Kara had been a chubby teenager and had been made fun of- she then proceeded to hack into the Midvale High school systems to find out. If someone had ever bullied Kara she wanted to know. Of course there had only been a few grainy photos of a shy blonde girl, sticking to the back of the class and to herself. Any incidents were involving Alex; apparently the elder Danvers had a mouth, and the fists to match, when Kara was in any sort of strife. It made her both envious and grateful; thankful that Kara had always had Alex in her corner but missing her brother Lex.

Kara nervously tapped her fingers on the menu. “Uhm, I’m not sure?” She asked and pushed her glasses up her nose. She then tensed and appeared startled by her own sneeze, eyes wide and blinking and Lena hid her smile at how adorable her friend was.

Lena gave a little hum and sipped her water. “Well…. What do you not want?”

A crease appeared between Kara’s brows. “I don’t know! They all look so good! I mean, I love a good pork belly, but the mushroom stuffed chicken….” She trailed off with a little groan and Lena hid her giggle.

“Well, don’t hold back on my account. Order what you like, my treat.”

Kara’s head shot up and her eyes were wide before they narrowed in protest. “Oh, Lena! I can’t-“

“Kara,” she lifted a hand to interrupt what was probably going to be a long ramble. “Please. I insist,” she said and tilted her head as Kara slumped back in the seat. “I invited you out. Otherwise I’d dine alone, likely at home. Consider it payment for good company.”

Kara beamed at the thought, and thankfully ignored Lena’s implication that she had to buy the company of others. “The way to my heart is through my stomach,” she agreed cheerfully, picking up the menu again and Lena ignored how her heart stumbled and instead turned to the approaching waiter.

“Have you decided on your drinks for this evening, Ladies?” He enquired politely, tablet poised.

Lena nodded and ordered a cider and looked over at Kara. She went for a lemon, lime and bitters, and then looked over the menu some more.

“Are you ready to order? I can give you a few more minutes to decide.”

“Kara?”

Kara lowered her menu, lip caught between her teeth and Lena shook her head fondly. “I’ll have the lamb, please,” she asked of their server. “And a side of mushrooms.”

“I’ll have….” Kara trailed off, glanced to Lena for confirmation, and then launched into her order at Lena’s reassuring nod. She still wasn’t entirely comfortable with her appetite, and the cost of it, around Lena. But Lena had assured her that it wasn’t an issue, and that she needed to eat what she needed to eat to survive. There was no shame in that and she shouldn’t feel self-conscious about it. “The lamb, pork, chicken and the steak. I’ll have a side of fries, mushrooms, and a Caesar salad. And can I get three eggs with my steak and extra roast vegetables with my pork please?”

The waiters eye twitched, his features contorted into disbelief but Kara smiled winningly at him and he noted it all down.

“Anything else?” He squeaked. Kara thought a moment, brow creased as she looked at the menu before she shook her head.

“Nope,” she smiled and popped the ‘p’.

“Thank you,” Lena commented as he gave a little nod and departed swiftly and she knew he would probably be telling his co-workers about the greedy blonde at the table, and she looked forward to watching Kara devour her food.

“How is your article on rental properties going?” Lena enquired and linked her hands under her chin, giving Kara her full attention. Kara’s flush, still present on her cheeks, intensified, but she moistened her lips and started to talk about all the people she had met. Lena had discovered early in their friendship that Kara thrived under her complete attention, almost like a flower under the sun, and it was no trouble for her to give it to her, completely. Kara’s latest article was about mould and insulation issues in rental properties, and had grown to include terrible living situations and even drug dealing and making going on in these homes. Many of the problems were also present in state houses, which was a current political rallying point, and one Kara had to touch upon in her articles.

Lena listened as Kara went into detail about the people she had met and the struggles they were facing. Before long their drinks were delivered and Kara sipped hers after sneezing again; she looked entirely too put out by the fact and Lena felt her lips rise of their own volition.

“Not used to being unwell?” She asked and was surprised by how affronted Kara looked.

“No,” she pouted and sipped her drink. “I’m never sick,” she added proudly only to sneeze again, twice, and she looked actually offended when she recovered.

Lena gave Kara a cursory glance. The blonde was still flushed, likely from the cold Lena suspected she had, and her eyes were a little glassy and droopy behind the thick lenses of her glasses.

“I think you may be getting one,” Lena suggested gently, wary of over-steeping too much. Luthor interactions hadn’t really taught her ‘how to people’ as Kara fondly called it. She knew how to find buttons and press them to get people to do what she wanted, but she didn’t know how to quite interact with people she cared about, especially people who were warm and open and essential in her life. People like Kara.

Kara’s pout deepened and she folded her arms across her chest, looking like an actual toddler that Lena had to bite her lip to hold back her smile.

“No,” she said, sounding like the toddler she was impersonating and Lena left her to it. If Kara said she was fine then Lena had no right, or experience, to question it, even if she was concerned. She didn’t want to push Kara away.

Lena distracted her with talk from work; one of her subsidiaries CEO’s had been embezzling company funds and Kara was greatly amused by Lena’s impressions of him when she caught him out on it; striding into his office with her lawyers, security, and a folder of his activities.

Their food arrived shortly after; as Lena was finishing her tale. Her lamb looked positively divine and Kara had wide eyes tracking the movement of her pork like a cat after a laser pointer. Her steak was set down not long after as well as her side of extra vegetables and Lena’s mushrooms.

“Your next main will be out in fifteen minutes,” their waiter said politely as he set down Kara’s Caesar salad, and the table was very full for two people. And… that actually made sense. If Kara had to wait to devour each dish then by the time she moved on to the next one it would be cold. At least this way she had time to actually chew her meal rather than inhale it; or at least that must have been the staff’s thoughts on it.

Lena picked up her utensils and neatly cut into her lamb and nearly groaned at the smells coming from the plate before her, while Kara had already bitten into her pork belly with gusto, not containing her delight.

Lena shivered and adjusted her posture.

They didn’t speak much as they made their way through their dinner, complementing the chefs, but otherwise content to eat in silence, peaceful in each other’s company.

Lena was daintily chewing on a piece of potato when she noticed Kara’s brow furrowing, and her usual vigour had lessened and wondered if she ought to see if she could cancel Kara’s other orders. Her friend’s usually endless appetite appeared to have been beaten, and Kara was less than thrilled about it, if the way she was pouting at her plate as though it had personally offended her were any indication.

Lena kept quiet on the matter though, willingly to let Kara bring it up or let it go. She made sure to pour herself some water, topping Kara’s glass, and requesting another bottle of chilled water so that she could gently keep Kara hydrated. She didn’t think Kara would notice, or at least call her out on it even if she did notice.

As Lena’s roasted vegetables slowly disappeared, a small portion of lamb left for last to savour, Kara picked at her steak with flagging energy. Lena had even skipped to the bathroom and requested that the chef’s hold Kara’s order as she wasn’t feeling very well. They had partially cooked the garlic and parmesan mushroom stuffed chicken, but as another order had come through for it they were able to pass it along.

Her cold appeared to take her swiftly and Kara had gone to the bathroom multiple times to blow her nose and had drunk over half the water herself, soothing her throat after a coughing fit.

Whatever the virus that had sunken its claws into Kara, it was strong and Kara was flagging, and Lena was growing increasingly concerned.

“Argh,” Kara groaned as she returned to her seat and Lena dabbed at her lips with her napkin as she slumped into her seat.

“How are you feeling?” Lena asked genuinely, eyes soft with concern.

Kara blinked, long and slow before scrunching up her nose. “Argh,” she said and let out a long groan, punctuated by a cough. Her body jerked with the movement and her hand did little to muffle the crack of her chest.

Lena glanced around for her waiter, locking eyes with him. He nodded as he delivered some dishes to the kitchen and returned within a minute.

“May I please have the check?” She asked of their waiter, eyes lingering on Kara as she blearily looked at her half eaten steak, almost mournfully if Lena were to judge.

Her waiter gave a nod and disappeared.

“Its okay, Lena,” Kara rasped and blinked at her like a sad puppy. “We don’t have to leave because im feeling sick.”

Lena shook her head, marvelling at the heart of the woman opposite her. Kara clearly wasn’t well, was deteriorating at an alarming rate if Lena were to judge, and yet she didn’t want to ruin Lena’s evening.

“I don’t want to be here if you aren’t feeling well, Kara,” she reproached gently and hesitantly reached across the table to squeeze Kara’s hand. It was clammy and cold, a stark contrast from her usual warm and soft and smooth skin.

She pulled her hand back and accepted the bile folder, slipping her card into it and ignoring Kara’s protests with a sharp glare; one she usually reserved for particularly difficult board-members. It conveyed how childish she found their actions while also shutting down any attempt at response with a careful eyebrow arch. Kara shifted in her seat but nodded. Sometimes she would challenge Lena, rise to the occasion and they would engage in a… friendly debate which always left Lena feeling full of energy and not minding if Kara would come out victorious. Any time spent with Kara left Lena feeling victorious, so she was more than willing to let Kara win with some things, but when it came to food, and especially when she invited Kara out to expensive restaurants, she insisted on paying. It was only fair.

She took out her phone and text her driver, telling him they would be out shortly.

Their server quickly came back, and Lena sighed the receipt and finished her glass of water. “Shall we?” She enquired of Kara and stood from her seat, grabbing her jacket and draping it across her arm.

Kara nodded and stood, scrapping her chair across the floor and drawing eyes to them, but Lena was more concerned with how Kara was feeling than what some no-bodies were thinking of the two of them.

They quickly left the restaurant, Kara bemoaning the loss of the delicious chicken and moaning, loudly, that she would eat it if she weren’t feeling sick.

Lena nodded consolingly. “Of course,” she soothed and rubbed Kara’s back gently. “That chicken wouldn’t have stood a chance if you were one-hundred percent.”

Kara perked up a little as they exited the doors. “I know right! I would have eaten the entire plate,” she said proudly, but her puffing out her chest failed when she was wracked by coughs.

Lena glanced around for her driver and saw the pharmacy ahead. It was still open and when Kara tried to smother her cough again she had made her decision.

“Come on,” she said and linked her arm with Kara’s and dragged her along. Kara stumbled more than usual, offering a little less resistance than Lena was accustomed to. It was… odd. Sick Kara became someone completely different; woozy and meek and really, really physically needy; not that Lena was complaining, but Kara was actually heavier than she looked and she had to strain to keep them both upright as Kara curled into her neck.

She guided them into the pharmacy ignoring the chirpy beep that announced their arrival and glanced up for the signage. She then pulled Kara down the aisle and past some body wash and shower items to the over the counter medicines. She didn’t have time to get a prescription, and figured Kara would be able to use her own doctor and medicine when she was home, but Lena wanted to get her better as soon as possible.

She had to Google the medicines, and found a very helpful site that listed a few of the offered medicines in terms of effectiveness, side effects, and testing and swiped a few off the shelf. One for Kara’s cough, something to go on her chest and sooth her lungs, and other ones to clear her nose and to generally make her feel better.

Kara wasn’t helpful at all, leaning against her and curling into her body tiredly; content to let her lead her around, and hold her up. Lena wasn’t complaining, but her muscles were. Kara had a lot of muscle to her, a fact that Lena was not unaware of as those arms curled around her and her body was pressed against her. Kara was like a sick child, like this, or at least what Kara assumed a sick child would be like.

“C’mon,” she grunted as she guided Kara towards the counter, fishing in her bag for her purse while bundling the medicine to her chest.

There was a young brunette girl behind the counter to their left, and she was serving an elderly gentleman. The bell chirped behind them as Lena settled Kara against the counter and let the medicines fall onto the other bench and checked on Kara.

The young girl was smiling, genuinely happy to be serving the elderly gentleman, and asked him about his cat as she ran up his transaction. She halted mid-speech and frozen, features turning ashen, and fear ran ghostly fingers down Lena’s nape.

“Open the till!” Barked a person behind them and Lena flinched and turned.

There was a man in an oversized grey hoodie, baggy dark jeans, one of those flat rimmed baseball caps, sunglasses, and a bandana over his mouth. He tossed a black gym bag on the counter and gestured to it angrily. What had Lena’s attention though, was the gun in his hand, shaking, but pointed at the girl behind the counter.

Lena reached back for Kara and felt the blonde grab her hands instantly.

“Get on the ground!” His voice was muffled through the face mask and his movements were restless; jerky and agitated. The old man had his hands up, eyes wide and afraid, and his walking stick slid off the bench and landed with a clunk on the ground. Kara dragged both her and Lena to the ground. Lena didn’t know if she should avert her eyes or go face down, but part of her needed to know if this was how she died.

“Now!” The man shouted, waver in his voice but determination in his gun point and the man shakily lowered himself to his knees, face contorting in pain and Lena could see the effort it took him.

“Don’t look at me!” The gunman shouted as an afterthought and the gun spun around back to the girl at the till. “Open the fucking till!”

The petrified sales assistant was tapping at her till frantically, casting scared glances at the gunman as she kept on missing the right digits.

“Come on!” He shouted and she flinched and was pale and clammy and so young in the bright lights of the pharmacy.

The gun was shaking in his hand and he kept glancing around the store as though the police were already on their way, and Kara was tense behind her, breath coming in rapid pants on her neck, and at any other time she would have enjoyed the experience, but right now she was far too concerned with her life. Her blood was pounding through her veins and she could feel herself getting hot.

“Hurry the fuck up!” The gunman demanded of the trembling girl and she shook her head frantically, tears streaming down her face, dragging her mascara with it, as she blubbered out she couldn’t get in.

The sound of the gun being cocked echoed in the room as though a bullet had been fired and the girl flinched and started to cry even louder.

“I don’t know-I can’t- it’s not working- please don’t shoot me.”

The gunman was becoming increasingly agitated and his hand was shaking dangerously now, and Lena was concerned that he may accidently shoot the poor girl, and maybe then the witnesses.

Taking a deep breath she slowly got to her feet, hands raised. She ignored Kara trying to forcefully drag her back down and instead spoke to the girl.

“Hey,” she said gently, fighting back her fear as the gun rounded on her, but she kept her gaze on the girl and ignored the gunman’s, “what the fuck? Get back on the ground!”

“Do you want the till opened or not?” She asked him, trying to be as calm and as clear and as non-threatening as possible.

He hesitated, gun focused on her, gleaming maliciously in the light, and jerked it in a ‘carry on’ movement.

“What’s your name?” She cautiously asked the girl, even though she could see her name tag- Meghan.

“Wha-what?” It took the girl a few long seconds to register she was being spoken to and when it did she was confused.

“What’s your name?” Lena asked again, still keeping her hands up above her shoulders where the gunman could see them and see she wasn’t a threat.

The man on the ground was looking terrified at Kara and she couldn’t even imagine the look on Kara’s face right now.

“Me-meghan,” the girl said, voice cracking a little.

“Okay, well Meghan,” Lena said softly and gently, as though she were speaking to a wild animal. “I need you to tell me the combination to the till.

“I don’t- I can’t,” the girl whimpered, two black lines of mascara down her face.

“Yes you can,” Lena interrupted gently, mindful of the man’s hand tightening on the gun. “Just go slowly. You can do it.”

Meghan’s hands were shaking, as bad as the gunman’s, but she lifted them back to the till as Lena continued. “What’s the first number?”

“F-our,’ the girl said shakily and there was an accompanying beep.

“And the second?” Lena enquired, mindful that time was of the essence that that they were running out of it. Surely someone had managed to let the authorities know about the robbery, but the elderly man wouldn’t have a phone, Kara’s was in her back pocket and any movement would draw the gunman’s eyes, and Lena’s was in her bag. Lena guided the girl through the numbers and then stepped back and went back to her knees, hands on her head and eyes on the floor when the till popped open and the gunman grew excited.

“Put the money in the bag!”

Part of Lena wondered where this guy was getting his lines from and wondered idly if Supergirl ever came across anyone with a new phrase and resolved to ask the hero.

Meghan’s trembling hands dropped a few notes on the counter and she had to swipe at them many times to get them into the bag.

Kara brushed up against her and she chanced a glance at the elderly man. He had grabbed his walking stick, fear and determination in equal measure in his eyes and Lena felt her heart thump as she tried to convey with her own eyes that he needed to stay still and not do anything rash.

His hands, gnarled and wrinkled with age and hard work, tightened on the walking stick and Lena tried to shake her head but didn’t dare draw attention to them.

Kara’s hand had settled on her leg, she could feel her touch through her jeans and felt a small measure of comfort at her presence.

Meghan had mostly emptied the till and the gunman snatched up the bag, roving the gun around them to make sure they were still on the ground and he put it on his shoulder and moved away from the counter.

Kara’s hand squeezed at her leg and the man gave a little nod and Lena sent up a prayer to whatever deity may be listening that her brave and kind friend wasn’t about to do something so reckless.

The man wrenched his walking stick around just as Kara moved to rise behind her and Lena launched herself to her feet, knocking into Kara and sending them both to the ground in a tangle on limbs as the gunman fell.

Unfortunately the elderly man couldn’t press his advantage physically, and Kara would have had to have gotten over Lena before she could have done anything anyway, the man fell forward, gun still clutched in his hand.

He recovered very quickly, and Kara was still on Lena and groaning, chest rattling as she gasped while the old man looked up at the gunman with quiet defiance.

He got to his feet with a growl and cocked the gun forcefully, pointing it at the man with grim intention, hand firm and aim strong. Lena’s heart-rate thudded in her ears, and everything slowed down.

“No!” Kara exclaimed as she leapt to her feet, and Lena knew exactly what Kara was going to do, even before she managed to get past Lena and between the gunman and the elderly man.

The gun would recoil as the gunman pulled the trigger, the empty shells would pop out of the gun and Kara’s body would jerk at the impact. She would be forced backwards, probably colliding painfully with the edge of the counter before ending up bleeding on top of the elderly man she was protecting. They were probably a good dozen minutes away from a hospital ER and Kara would probably bleed out before that. Not that Lena had any experience with bullet holes, she was a scientist not a doctor, but she knew being shot at such a close range would not be good.

The thought struck her as she felt movement behind her. Kara would die. And…. Lena Luthor couldn’t live in a world without Kara Danvers in it.

She moved before she thought about it and three gun shots rang out.

She didn’t fall very far.

There were three thuds into her back, as though someone had punched her; hard, and then she was falling against Kara. Kara’s features were twisted into shock and agony and her illness flush was stark against how pale her skin had turned.

Lena grunted, trying to pull air into her lungs as Kara’s arms came around her and they both tumbled to the floor in a heap.

A distant part to her noted that Kara was saying something; her lips were moving and the tendons in her neck were straining but it was all so far away. Her head was ringing with that high-pitched buzzing sound and her back was starting to burn, as though a hot flush was starting at the entry wounds and spreading all over her body. She had a distinct feeling of her shirt getting wet and idly wonder if she would be able to get the blood out; because it was obvious she had been shot. Which had been the plan. Get between Kara and the gunman. It was a success. But…. Getting shot hadn’t been ideal. Still. Better her than Kara. Kara. She needed to tell Kara.

Above her there was shouting, screams and raised noises and an alarm was ringing. Kara was lying her down and there was movement and someone was trying to roll her over, it hurt, and she resisted, trying to lift her suddenly weakened arms and push them away. And Kara was there again, swimming in her vision but becoming clearer and she was speaking quickly but calmly.

“Lena,” she was cooing, a note of panic in her otherwise rich voice. Lena could listen to her all day, and did sometimes, especially when Kara went off on one of her rambles. She loved to listen to her talk, she liked to use her hands as well, lifting them and speaking with them in a unique Kara-Language, and her facial expressions were always priceless. When Kara was telling a story she liked to change her voices to match the people in her tales, and she would exaggerate her expressions for Lena’s entertainment. Lena wasn’t sure if Kara knew she was doing it or not, or if Kara knew just how enthralling Lena found it when she spoke, but Lena was more than content to just sit and listen and watch Kara. It was one of her favourite things about Kara.

“You’re okay,” she was saying as she gently guided her around, and her back was flaring and burning and Lena let out a whimper. It was getting a little hard to breathe, but that was probably because she was winded from the impact, which made sense.

Kara’s features seemed to crumble at the sound and there was a crinkle between her brow and her hands were soft but determined as they rolled her over. “We have to stop the bleeding,” she said, and her voice was a little distant. She was probably talking to someone else. It was a little easier to breath on her stomach but there was a warm wet patch sinking into her shirt and the knowledge of it being her own blood made her shiver and the sensation was almost beyond words.

And then there was pressure at her back and pain, burning and firing as though someone had smeared liquid fire on her body and she managed a raspy shout. Kara’s hands were on her again, cooing and soothing and there was a roaring in her ears, a grey haze invading her vision and she fought against it. No. She was not going to die. Not yet.

“It’s gonna be okay,” Kara was rambling again, and there was hysteria entering her voice and it was so…foreign… Kara was never afraid or scared. Well, she was concerned, that was for sure, but never like this. Somehow Kara; beautiful, smart, sweet, kind, funny, caring and generous, always seemed so sure of herself, she had an inner strength that she might try to hide behind a wall-flower wardrobe, but it was there. It was always there. Kara was so strong on the inside, though Lena had noted her friend’s physique once or twice, and she couldn’t hide that from Lena. Not when Lena saw all that Kara was. She may have called herself naïve, but Lena knew better. Kara was full of hope, and she had the strength to give her that hope and believe in everyone, even in a Luthor. So for Kara to be frazzled and, indeed, sounding like she were having a miniature breakdown, then something was very, very wrong.

“Everything’s gonna be okay, Lena,” Kara said and she could feel a hand stroking her hair while the pressure at her back remained the same. Lena forced her head around, lifting it and trying to locate Kara. “It’s all gonna be okay.” She almost sounded like she didn’t believe herself, which was stupid. Kara was going to be okay and that was all that mattered. Lena didn’t matter in the scale of things, her family, and the world, made sure she believed that. But Kara; strong and generous and hopeful Kara was okay, and so it would be fine. As long as Kara was okay, Lena could die with that, if she were in face going to die, and her chances were probably dwindling by the seconds. She wondered if Kara was going to call Supergirl. Possibly. The two of them seemed close, or relatively close if Lena could tell. They talked about the other, sometimes. She was fairly certain Supergirl would come for her; not just because they were….. work acquaintances, but because Kara would ask it of her. And Lena didn’t know anyone who wouldn’t do anything for Kara. Lena certainly would.

Kara was talking into her phone, shouting at someone, probably Alex. She was explaining the situation and a few letters that stuck out were DE and O. The DEO. Huh, Lena considered as she lay on the dirty grey carpet and tried to keep her breathing shallow as each inhale hurt. She hadn’t been aware that Kara knew of the organisation that worked with Supergirl.

Lena herself wasn’t to know, but no one, not even a government shadow agency, hacked into her servers without her chasing them down. Of course when she realised who had hacked her she had promptly left their servers and had made sure the opening an Agent Schott had made was secured and then simmered on the information. It hadn’t been pleasing to learn that they hacked her, and that they, and by extension Supergirl, didn’t believe in her, but Kara had and Kara had sent Supergirl after her, so that was okay. She guessed it made sense that Kara knew about Alex’s job, as she was acquainted with Supergirl as well, but it hadn’t been something she gave much thought to. She and Kara didn’t tend to speak about Supergirl and the DEO and Alex’s work, and when they did it was only in passing.

Kara’s hand was back at her head and she could feel the slow, comforting strokes, even as there was a faint tremble to it. “It’s gonna be okay, Lena. Help is on its way. You’re gonna be fine. It’s all gonna be okay.”

Of course it was going to be okay. Kara was unharmed. Lena would quite happily take a few bullets for her if it meant Kara would be okay. A thought suddenly struck her and she shuffled around, ignoring the pressure on her shoulders as Kara, and maybe the elderly man? Tried to get her to stay still.

She tried to shake them off, but moving hurt, and she groaned a little. “Let go,” she bit out through clenched teeth. The pressure eased and the man spoke, a soft rumble. “Easy there. You need to stay still and calm.” He had the sort of voice that a grandfather would have, Lena thought. Comforting and wise and unmoving. She almost obeyed him, but she needed to see with her own eyes that Kara was unhurt.

She tried to roll again and heard Kara sigh. “You need to keep still, Lena. You’re bleeding. Probably internally.”

That was not a comforting thought, but… she offered Kara a wheezing chuckle as she spun around on her side, and there was a folded piece of clothing being placed under her head and empty plastic packaging crunched. How fortunate that she had been shot in a pharmacy- at least it was well supplied. Though she doubted the ‘Hey! If you get shot we have the supplies for you!’ slogan would be a good one. She sniggered to herself as she settled on her back and sent a wave of pain through her body and smiled painfully up at Kara.

“That’s where the bloods supposed to be,” she could picture just how dopey her smile was, but couldn’t bring herself to care as Kara barked a laugh, unwilling and with a note of exasperation coupled with fondness.

“Shush,” Kara soothed, hands moving to her head to brush some hair from her face and Lena tilted her head into the soft touch, even as Kara’s hands trembled and had blood on them. Her blood. There was a lot of it. Almost as though Kara had dipped her hands into a paint bucket. It was a concerning note and she was mentally categorising her bodies reactions to what was happening and had already concluded her prognosis was not positive.

“Kara,” she wheezed, and it was getting harder to breathe, like there was something pressing on her chest and keeping them from expanding. But this was important. More important than the blood pounding in her ears, trying to over-compensate for the immobilisation of her body.

Kara’s blue eyes were frantic and wide and her cheeks were flush; a stark contrast to her ashen skin, and her glasses were almost hanging off her face. She had one hand somewhere on Lena’s body, she couldn’t feel it but registered by the angle she and Kara were, that she must have been holding her somewhere. Kara’s other hand was cupping Lena’s cheek and her skin was clammy and cool, nothing like it normally was.

“K-ara,” she gasped out, chest rising and falling at a frantic pace and she could feel something warm and wet at her back and it felt wrong.

Kara’s eyes were so beautiful. Kara was beautiful; inside and out, not that the out really mattered-it was just a bonus, but Kara’s eyes were one of Lena’s favourite things. Kara wore her heart on her sleeve, but carried her soul in her eyes. Her eyes told of her pain and sorrow, the loss of her family before the Danvers adopted her, the joy of her family and friends and people she loved, and even held the affection and hope she had in Lena. Depending on how Kara was feeling they seemed to change in their shade. From the deep blue of the ocean to the light blue of the mountain tops. Now though they were stormy, a steel blue of inner turmoil and fear, and they were anchoring Lena, just like Kara did.

“I love you,” Lena said abruptly, suddenly needing Kara to know it. Kara blinked in surprise, jaw loosening in shock and lips falling open and she looked a little like a gaping fish.

Lena rolled her head to the side to better see Kara and measured the distance between them. She was kneeling next to Lena on the floor, jeans already with dark stains and upper body semi-curled over Lena as though she could protect her from something. Her phone had been stuffed into her shirt, Lena could see the edge of it, and she figured, by the sounds of traffic, that someone, probably Alex, was on speaker phone and was on her way. It was nice that Kara had such a good sister. Maybe Alex would save her.

“You-you-“ Kara repeated dumbly, eyes wide and Lena watched her own hand lift up to cup Kara’s cheek. It was clumsy and mostly unresponsive, so she drew red finger streaks up her cheek before covering it with her palm.

“I love you,” Lena repeated, trying to find the recognition in Kara’s eyes.

Kara tossed those words about like one would comment on the weather. ‘I love you!’ To the pizza delivery boy. ‘I love you!’ to the soon to be devoured potsticker. ‘God, I love you!’ to the macaroni cheese pizza. ‘I love you!’ to Alex and James and Maggie and Winn, and even Lena when, ‘Lena! You brought me donuts! Argh! I love you!’ It was simply what Kara said. She offered those three words as though they meant nothing, or very little, when they meant everything.

The first time Kara had told her she loved her Lena had very nearly had a heart attack and Kara had been worried that Lena had had an allergic reaction to the gelato she had been eating. In reality no one had said that to Lena in years and hearing it, so carefree and willingly offered while she had laughed at a joke Lena had made, had almost frozen her. Kara had given Lena that gift, her affection, or even a laugh, freely and without evening realising the impact it had on her.

Lena didn’t say it. Love was a rare commodity in the Luthor household, and the words were not exchanged. She had loved her mother, or at least she thought she did, if three year-olds understood the mechanics of love. She loved Lionel, but he had died and left her. Lex she had loved the most, but he had gone crazy, left her behind, and had then tried to kill her. Her mother was… her mother had her heart, or a lot of it at any rate, but nothing she did was every good enough and deep inside she knew she would never get her mothers love back, which made her try all the harder. Lex, she knew, had loved her. Even now as he hated her, she knew he loved her. And she him. That was never a question. She could love him and still hate him, and he her. Lionel loved her. After all, he had brought her home and had genuinely seemed to enjoy her company. It was just her mother she had trouble with. Jack had been….. new and exciting and something so foreign. She had enjoyed his company; he was nerdy and intelligent and understood her need for space, but he wasn’t always willing to challenge her. She was young and he was a kindred spirit and is touch had been comforting, but the sparks had faded. Kara was… Kara was something else.

Kara was a ray of sunshine, a beacon of light bringing warmth and a guiding touch to a cruel and dark world, a world where Lena was struggling to find her own way. Kara wore her heart on her sleeve, but wasn’t afraid to get hurt by leaving it so exposed, in fact she was more than willing to go in to bat for people the rest of the world had already decided weren’t worth it. People like Lena. Kara had taken one look at Lena Luthor and decided to be her friend, to be her only friend, and to be her friend with all her integrity, honesty, passion, compassion, generosity, and love. Kara loved her. This much Lena had come to understand, and Lena loved Kara, but it hadn’t taken her very long to figure out that her own love for Kara surpassed the love that you have for friends. Lena was in love with Kara. It had been a terrifying revelation.

Luthor’s didn’t _do_ love. She was remarkably unfamiliar with the concept and was constantly left floundering where Kara was concerned. She hovered between anxiety over doing too much or too little (filling an entire office with flowers was probably a bit of an overkill-but Luthor’s didn’t do anything half-arsed. Case and point: Lex versus Superman) and elation over how happy Kara genuinely was to spend time with her. And then she would agonise over her words and actions and if Kara could read anything from them that Lena didn’t want her to. If Kara got the idea that Lena loved her, needed her, then she would have far too much power over Lena, not that she didn’t already but she wasn’t aware of it, and she could ruin Lena. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Kara, she did, with her life. Kara had proven that, but Lena was a coward.

She was unwilling to do anything that could risk upsetting the comfort she had found with Kara’s companionship, and letting Kara know how much Lena cared for her would change their relationship dynamic. Lena was too scared to risk it. If she lost Kara she knew she’d lose everything. So she kept quiet about it. Let Kara cuddle into her one movie nights even though it very nearly gave her a heart attack every time Kara moved. She let her hold her hand as they went shopping or around the park or anywhere in general, regardless of what the press were saying. She let Kara hug her, and Kara gave the most amazing hugs. She always made her feel safe and secure and loved. She even lost sleep every night when Kara stayed over and they fell asleep in her bed talking, or at least Kara would. Lena would stay awake all night, rigid and almost falling off the edge of the bed in an effort to maintain a safe distance from the alluring woman in her bed. The long, soft hug Kara gave her in goodbye would keep her energised through the day, with a little help of caffeine. Lena had even adjusted her workout intensity in order to accommodate Kara’s immense caloric intake, making sure Kara never felt insecure or ashamed of how much she needed to eat to survive. Lena would just quietly work it off later. There was nothing Lena wouldn’t do for Kara.

“You love me?” Kara repeated again, voice rising in question with a hint of awe to it.

Lena used Kara’s eyes and touch to anchor herself. “Yes,” she said and could feel her arm tremble from being held up while the rest of her blood drained faster. Kara caught the shaking limb and held Lena’s hand to her cheek. Her eyes were bright but damp with tears.

“I love you too,” she was smiling now, and it was heart-breaking.

She was starting to feel a bit sick and could feel her eye lids drooping but her smile was radiant. Kara knew what those words meant, knew what Lena was saying.

“I love your smile,” Lena rasped resting her head back on the clothing under her head, glad it was keeping her head upright otherwise she might have dropped it. “I love all of your smiles,” she continued and Kara’s tears were gathering the blood on their interlocked fingers and were running down Lena’s hands, a clear drop tinged with red.

She went on to describe Kara’s smiles, ignoring how she was gasping like crazy now, lungs desperately trying to pull air into her body not realising that air was not the problem. She was getting cold now, very cold, she could feel it in her bones as though she’d never be warm again. But her back was warm, and her hand, where Kara had it pressed to her cheek, fingers intertwined as Lena garbled her words, telling Kara the things she loved about her.

She was rambling about how Kara had always believed in her and supported her and how Kara Danvers was her hero, like Supergirl was but only better because Kara was hers and Supergirl wasn’t and she loved Kara more than Supergirl even though they looked the same and smelled the same and spoke her name the same and did Kara know the way she spoke her name and did she know just how Lena loved to hear her say it? The slurred, incoherent ramble was mostly lost to her own mind. She was certain she was thinking the words and ordering her brain to say them, but she wasn’t feeling very well, the room was grey and the lights hurt her eyes and she just wanted to close them.

Kara was openly sobbing now, and Lena didn’t like it, didn’t know why Kara was crying, only she knew she needed to fix it. Her hand was lethargic and heavy in Kara’s grip but she ordered it to move, directing it to Kara’s eyes. She would wipe the tears away and Kara wouldn’t be so sad. She didn’t intend to knock the glasses from Kara’s face, and by Kara’s wince she hadn’t been expecting it either, but she did, knocked them enough that Lena finally got a good look at them. And then she knew.

Losing control over her arm she let it flop lazily onto her own body, unable to control its descent and letting it hit her chest. Kara had frozen as soon as she had seen the recognition in Lena’s eyes and didn’t catch her arm, but that was okay.

“You did save me,” Lena mumbled, trying to force the words out so that Kara, so that Supergirl, Kara-Supergirl, knew Lena knew and was thanking her for her belief in her. It was very important. Supergirl believing in a Luthor. Kara believing in Lena.

“Love. You.” Lena felt her mouth moving, could picture herself saying the words in her head. “Kara El.”

And then there was nothing, only the light above Kara dimming and leaving Lena to drown in blue eyes, blonde hair and a broken smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About that two-shot.... is three-shot a thing? And not because Lena was shot three times..... but because, as always, I write to much. Oops.


	3. Love

 

National City was silent. Actually it wasn’t. The heartbeat of the city kept its low vibration. There was the occasional honk of horns punctuating each contraction, the murmuring of hundreds of thousands of people, the music of their lives intertwining into a low base line. The city was alive. And Lena was in hospital with three bullet holes and hooked up to enough tubes, monitors, and bandages that she looked like a hibernating cyborg-mummy.

There were still hordes of press outside of the hospital, so much that the NCPD had posted a few officers to support the hospitals security, and ensure emergency vehicles could get in and out of the facility without any trouble. Inside the hospital security stood at the counter and made sure the people entering the hospital were there for their health and wellbeing, or visiting actual guests, and not there to try and get information on Lena Luthor.

She had been carried into hospital in the arms of a Green Martian with three bullets in her back and no heart-beat. Fortunately for Lena Luthor the DEO had already contacted East National City General and they had the ER prepped and a team ready to operate on her. They brought her back, just, but she was alive. And that was all that Kara could focus on. There was nothing else. No sirens or shouts or songs, just the thud-thud thud-thud of her best friend’s heartbeat. And the sound sent all sorts of turmoil firing inside her at what Lena had confessed; that she loved her. Her! Kara Danvers! Lena loved Kara! And then she had realised that Kara was Supergirl and she had said she loved her anyway, Kara El. Of course Lena wasn’t to know that it was actually Zor El, but details. Lena had known she was an alien, known she was Supergirl, and had said she loved her all the same. The thought made her feet lift off the apartment building she was standing on, looking out over the city and, well, brooding.

Losing her powers couldn’t have come at a more crucial moment and now Lena had tubes and machines keeping her stable while her body tried to recover. It wasn’t that she wasn’t thankful, Rao she was, but Lena had gotten hurt. She hated the thought of it; of Lena getting hurt because of her and because she hadn’t been able to protect her. Not that Lena needed her protecting because Lena was a pretty special woman and could protect herself, but still. She threw herself in front of Kara as Kara threw herself in front of the elderly gentleman.

He had been communicating with his eyes, darting glances down to his walking stick and then looking at her meaningfully as Lena tried to get the serving girl to open the til and she had tried to warn him against acting but it had been no use. He moved and Kara tried to stop him, only she collided with Lena and the two fell down, just like the assailant.

And then he had gotten to his feet and lifted his gun and Kara had moved, knowing that she would probably be okay, as long as the DEO got to her and could keep her stable until her powers came back. The old man probably wouldn’t be so lucky. It had been a no brainer. Only Kara hadn’t factored Lena Luthor into the equation and now her best friend was in a private room of a private hospital surrounded by security and media. The press was having a field day over it; the CEO of L-Corp getting shot and being carried to hospital by an alien. They were all wondering where Supergirl was, and wondering a little about Kara Danvers. Thankfully Alex had arrived shortly after J’onn had whisked Lena away and had made sure Kara knew what to say to the police and what the old man should say.

Kara was also having a miniature breakdown over A) Lena being in love with her (which, Rao!) B) Lena being shot, and C) Lena now knowing about her big ‘S’ shaped secret. Alex had been a much needed comfort and had stayed at her side and had then claimed ‘FBI’ jurisdiction over the case as Lena was such a high profile victim. It also kept the old man quiet. Not that he didn’t need to be told how stupid he had been, but Alex told him very frankly, and he was more than willing to follow the DEO’s script. His statement was perfectly crafted leaving out rambled confessions of love and of a weird name that he absolutely didn’t hear.

Alex had then driven Kara home, forcing her to have a shower and get into new clothes while the DEO, as a favour to Supergirl, tried to track the assailant down. To absolutely no one’s surprise he had gone underground immediately. Perhaps because he had shot someone, or perhaps because the news was all over the city within half an hour; Lena Luthor had been shot three times. The entirety of the NCPD would be looking for him. They couldn’t just let someone shoot such a high profile CEO and get away with it. The eyes of the country would be on them. And…. For the moment they were coming up short. So had the DEO. The assailant had vanished but they were monitoring all police scanners in the hopes he would surface. There was a BOLO out on him and his name and face had been plastered all over the morning news- he would be found, sooner or later.

The hospital had been very busy when Alex and Kara had finally pushed their way through the press and into the building, with help from Alex’s badge. Alex had to flash her badge some more to get a floor for Lena and they then had to wade through security in order to get close to Lena. Fortunately for Kara she was able to talk her way into seeing Lena’s doctor, with help from Alex, and maybe telling the doctor that she was with Lena when she was shot and she just wanted to know she was going to be alright! Having a panic attack in the middle of the hospital, cold aside, helped her cause just a little. The nurses allowed her and Alex to stay while they operated on Lena through the night, and it was well into Sunday morning when the exhausted team finally exited the operating room and Lena was wheeled into her private room.

The lead doctor was eventually convinced to let her know that, ‘Miss Luthor is critical but stable. When she wakes, if she approves it, you may visit during visiting hours,’ after Kara had told him who she was and that she had been waiting for hours. Exhaustion coupled with Kara’s begging eyes and she had told Kara that Lena was going to be alright, but that was all she could comment on and that the hospital would release an official statement in a few hours.

Alex had Winn hack into the hospitals system to give Kara the report on Lena’s health to confirm it. Kara didn’t like the invasion of Lena’s privacy but was far more relieved that Lena would be okay with a lot of rest and rehabilitation.

Alex had been a good sport about it; she’d sat with Kara all through the night and into the morning and had even brought her snacks and medicine and her glare made the nurses leave them alone, even if Kara currently was an incubator for all sorts of viruses; being immune to everything meant when she wasn’t it was like she was hit by a truck load of them all at once.

Lena woke up around ten am when Kara was dozing on a chair next to Alex, drooling onto her shoulder. The medicine Alex had brought her last had made her sleepy and she had succumbed to her bodies needs and had fallen asleep. Alex had stayed and had only left to have a quick conversation with the police about the suspect and had then returned.

She was awoken from a dream about pizza by Alex nudging her awake and she blinked blearily at her sister as she tried to get her bearings. The corridor was empty and sterile like all hospitals were, bar the harried looking nurse that was coming from the direction of Lena’s room.

“Are you Kara Danvers?” He asked as he got close enough, voice abrupt and laced with exhaustion.

Kara leapt to her feet, stumbled a little at the dizzy wave that overtook her, had to rely on Alex’s support, and then nodded eagerly. She regretted it immediately as her head protested.

“Yes! That’s me!”

“Miss Luthor is awake. She’s asking for you,” the nurse said and turned and walked away and Kara almost fell over her feet as she stumbled after him.

“Is she okay? Does she need anything? Can I do anything? Is she in any pain? How long as she been awake? Can I take her home?”

The nurse directed her to a door without bothering to conceal his sigh. “She’s in here. The doctor will be back in twenty minutes.”

Kara blinked after him and saw Alex lifting her phone to her ear and giving her a little smile as Kara turned back to Lena’s room. She was a little bit worried about being ill but decided that Lena would be okay and she needed to see her and she had asked for her knowing she was sick so it was okay for her to visit. She knocked quickly and then entered.

Lena was pale against the white sheets and sterile room and she had her phone out and was slowly tapping at the keys. Her smile when Kara nervously entered and hovered at the door was the muse of sonnets. It was hesitant and shy but it was blindingly joyful, as though Kara had brought her Christmas and peace and all the things Lena wanted in the world, just by showing up.

“Kara!”

A tight feeling she hadn’t noticed in her chest eased and it felt lighter, almost as though her heart had grown in her chest.

“Lena,” she offered gently, unsure of the mix of emotions rumbling around in the chambers of her heart, but knowing that the most dominant one was relief; relief at seeing Lena alive and awake and looking at her with glowing eyes.

She was stuck for words as the door closed shut behind her with a gentle click and she walked across the small space to Lena’s bed, guided by her heart alone.

What did she say to the woman who had taken a bullet for her or three? And had actually died for her? Because Lena _had_. Lena had died on the operating table, blood loss severe and only the fact that the DEO had alerted the hospital to the situation and Lena’s impending arrival had they been prepared for her, giving her a transfusion the moment J’onn (as Supergirl) flew her into the operating theatre. If J’onn had delayed by even a minute Lena’s survival chances would have plummeted. As it was she had died a few times while being operated on.

She looked small and young and so fragile against the white of her sheets and room. Her hair was a dark tangle and the green of her eyes were the only striking splash of colour against an otherwise dull canvas.

“How are you feeling?” Lena rasped out and her voice cracked a little and she glanced to the side stand where a glass of water was. It even had a dull pink straw and Lena frowned at it a moment.

“How am I feeling?” She asked, slightly aghast at the question when Lena was the one in hospital.

“Yes,” Lena croaked, glancing back at Kara before frowning at the water as though by her will it would fly across the air to her. She lifted her arm slowly and winced and her fingers twitched.

“Here,” Kara said, striding forward and hit with the sudden need to do or say something. She could help Lena with this, it would give them both time to think.

Lena’s pained grimace faded into fondness as she lowered her arm and brought it back to her side and Kara gently guided the sip to her mouth. Lena eyed the entire situation with distaste but accepted the assistance without grumbling about it, which did surprise Kara.

Lena sipped slowly and then settled back against the pillows and the dark shadows under her eyes were easier to see up close.

Kara set the glass down and awkwardly took a seat, perching on the edge of the chair as though she may need to leave at any moment.

She still hadn’t thought of what to say, but decided that maybe she would just let Lena lead into the conversation.

“Alex says I have a cold,” she said and felt the tickle in her nose which told her so.

Lena’s lips curled as she tiredly looked up at her. “Welcome to the human race,” Lena commented dryly and Kara shook her head slightly and lowered it in defeat.

“Lena….” Her voice emerged in a painful groan, and it hurt her throat to make it, and she inwardly cursed blowing out her powers- for the zillionth time since she had first gone to meet up with Lena.

“I know what you’re going to say, Kara,” Lena’s voice cut through her internal bemoaning and she lifted her head. Lena looked exhausted and near death as she lay on the bed, with cords connected to her pale limbs and her hair around her head almost like a mop. Kara inwardly knew Lena would be loathing that fact and resolved to ask her, if everything went well, if she would like Kara to brush and braid it for her. She used to do it for Alex a long, long time ago.

“It isn’t your fault,” Lena said firmly and shifted on the bed a little before relaxing back into the pillows. “No!” She said sharply when Kara opened her mouth to protest. “No,” she repeated, though more gently this time and Kara could feel her brow creasing in response.

Kara slumped back on the chair, feeling her eyes sting with the tell-tale sign of tears and wondered if she would actually be able to cry with how it felt like her entire head was in a cloud and all blocked up. Her body was taking far too long to recover and that just couldn’t go on- J’onn was doing a great job of being Supergirl, but he had other responsibilities, and he didn’t help as many people as she did. Not that he didn’t help them; he did! It was just that he didn’t help as many people. She helped old women across the street, helped old men get their morning paper, she even played basket-ball with some youth. J’onn only had time for the major accidents, which made sense as he was Director of a huge government shadow organisation, but still. She wanted her powers back.

“You can’t take the blame for the actions of others, Kara,” Lena said gently and her words were weighted, a wry smile curving her lips. “You chose to get in front of that old man, and I chose to get in front of you. You didn’t choose to rob the pharmacy or take a gun, and you certainly didn’t pull the trigger. None of what happened is your fault.”

Kara let out a long sigh, feeling her eyes get wet. “But if I weren’t…” she hesitated and darted a glance at the door. “…sick,” she said pointedly and Lena almost rolled her eyes. “It would have been fine. You wouldn’t have gotten hurt.” She mentally patted herself on the back. No one that could be listening would know she was talking about her powers because for all they knew she could be referring to her cold and how they had gone to the pharmacy to get her some medicine where they became participants in a robbery. It was very clever of her. Alex would be so proud of how sneaky she had been.

Lena shook her head slightly. “You can’t go through life with ‘what if’s’ Kara. You,” Lena said gently, “of all people should know that.”

Kara gave a little sigh. Alex had been telling her this ever since she had arrived at the scene, at a safe distance from anyone hearing of course. J’onn had told her the same in his stern and commanding manner, almost ordering her not to feel guilty about it. Winn had been the same, looking at her with a wry smile and a little shrug, ‘she’s alive, Kara. If you hadn’t have solar-flared that alien would have destroyed a city block and the chances of no causalities there are next to none.’ James had been gruff about it telling her he was glad she was alright and that he, as Guardian, was going to go for a stroll that night and see what he found. He had also, looking very awkward about it, clasped her on the shoulder and told her he was glad that she had a friend like Lena. Which, coming from James with his history (and jealousy) with the Luthor’s (and of Lex) had been a step in the right direction.

Winn was most excited about her friendship with Lena; he loved being able to geek out with her and she knew a lot about virtually everything. She certainly knew how to hold a conversation but they talked about tech a lot, though Kara never complained. She was always happy to see her friends getting along- almost too well. Winn had a few stories to tell Lena.

Alex was relatively easier to persuade. Lena had proven herself, and while Alex was still a little cautious about the ‘Super’ secret, it had nothing to do with Lena being a Luthor and more to do with anyone not associated with them with them knowing. James could be blackmailed with his ‘other’ job if he ever decided to betray them, and Superman (which was highly unlikely). Winn had signed a contract. Maggie was NCPD and her knowing could come under the departmental NDA’s, plus she was Alex’s girlfriend. It was only Lena still being a friend, and not working at the DEO or with enough blackmail material to keep her quiet should she betray them that made them wary.

Though, Alex had quietly told her as they sat waiting for Lena to come out of surgery, if Lena had thrown herself in front of a bullet, or several, just for Kara Danvers, then she was alright in Alex’s book. She was still a bit worried about the ‘Super’ aspect of Kara, but taking a bullet for her sister had been enough to get Alex on Team Lena. Which had been great! Because now all of her friends saw and believed in the Lena that Kara did. She only wished it hadn’t taken getting shot to achieve that.

“I know,” she sighed and shifted forward on the seat to get closer to Lena. “I just- I just wish you hadn’t gotten hurt…”

Lena lifted her hand and Kara rose from her seat and obeyed the soft gesture, moving up to the bed and gently sitting on it and taking Lena’s.

Her hand was pale and a little cold, and her grip was weak, but she got her point across with a gentle squeeze. “I wouldn’t have done it differently, Kara.”

Her eyes fluttered a little and she blinked rapidly and yawned and Kara’s heart tumbled in its chest. “Even if I knew about…you…” she lifted their combined hands and waved them a little in front of Kara.

Kara sighed and then winced. There was pressure building up in her chest, a tickle that was increasingly irritating.

“Well,” Lena hesitated and gave it some thought and then nodded to herself. “Maybe if you weren’t sick,” she said and gave a little smile. Kara squeezed her hand in response, knowing that if Kara weren’t sick then Lena wouldn’t have thrown herself in front of her; she wouldn’t have been able to. Supergirl would have sorted everything out quite easily. Then the DEO would have come in to clean up the identity loss. Then she would have re-joined Lena and they would have continued on. Having Superpowers was helpful.

“But I’m glad you’re okay. That was all that I was thinking about,” Lena said and lowered her eyes shyly. Kara cursed her power-loss; if she had them she would be able to hear the stammer in Lena’s heartbeat, or the slight hesitance in her confession, the uncertainty about Kara’s feelings in response to her own.

Kara didn’t know if Lena remembered her telling her she loved her, and Kara returning the sentiment and actually meaning it in a not-platonic way.

“I-um,” she hesitated and Lena’s fingers stroked her palms softly and it tickled. Smiling softly at their interlocked hands and glancing up at Lena from under her lashes she added, “Alex says I talk about you too much.”

Lena blinked in confusion and Kara rallied. If Lena had the courage to tell her she loved her, like actually loved her, (even if she was dying) then Kara could tell her that she loved her too, and not just telling a dying woman that. She ran her hand shakily through her hair and pushed her glasses up her nose.

“Apparently I talk about you all the time,” she said nervously, darting glances up at Lena’s face while admiring the veins in Lena’s slender wrists. “Alex, Maggie, James and Winn had a drinking game going on about how many times I mentioned your name…. they got completely wasted,” Kara added with a blush.

Lena’s fingers hadn’t halted their slow and gentle touches and her palm was tingly and she was feeling warm and fluttery and golden.

“Mh,” Lena hummed softly, sleepily, and her eyes were so green as they fluttered closed.

“I guess….” Kara paused and waited for those beautiful eyes to look at her again. She wanted Lena to see her, all of her, as she told her this. “I love you?” She finished and her nose scrunched up with how absolutely lame that had sounded. “Um, I love you,” she said and gave a little nod before looking back at Lena. Her eyes were open lazily, clearly fighting sleep and Kara wondered when the doctor was going to come back. “I love you,” she repeated firmly. Lena’s fingers had gone soft in Kara’s hands but her skin was still tingling at their point of contact.

“I told you first,” Lena murmured softly, voice gravelly as she fought off sleep and her yawn was wide and slow.

Kara scoffed. “Only because you were dying,” she said and turned Lena’s palm so that she could stroke it softly as Lena slumped back on the bed. And now that she had said it, again, it was as though someone had filled her with sunlight, warm and golden and radiant. It flooded her body and felt like molten gold was running through her veins.

“Mh,” Lena hummed and blinked lazily. “Still told you first.”

Kara rolled her eyes as Lena’s heartbeat began to slow. “Fine. You win for most dramatic confession. Ever.”

“Glad you see it my way.” Lena reminded Kara of a cat in the sun, all sleepy eyes and soft looking. The noises of the hospital and the outside world slowly filtered back to her and she felt young and strong and hopelessly in love.

“Go to sleep, Lena,” Kara said softly and ran her fingers along Lena’s wrist as she straightened.

Lena blinked up at her sleepily and her head rolled lazily to the side to watch her. Hesitating slightly Kara slowly leant forward and pressed her lips to Lena’s forehead. A lazy tumble of Lena’s heart was her only outward reaction and when Kara pulled back to nervously see how her gesture of affection had gone Lena had a tired, dopey smile on her face.

“I’ll be here when you wake up,” she promised slowly and Lena gave her a little nod, closing her eyes. And she would be. She would never leave Lena's side for as long as she lived. Not literally of course, because that would be weird and clinging and wrong, especially with their jobs, but with her heart, soul and mind. They would be joined to Lena for all of time.

“Love you,” she whispered and she sounded so young in that moment, virtually asleep, almost like she were a child wanting to curl into their bed and return to dreams.

“Khap zhao rip *,” Kara said and took Lena’s hand, pressing a gentle kiss to the delicate fingers and rubbing them softly with her thumb as she lowered Lena’s arm back to the bed.

“Zhindif chao uldif**.”

~*~

*I love you

**Always and forever

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short and to the point, I hope. In the future I may add the proposal to this fic but at the moment the muse is gone. But in case you were interested; Kara plans the proposal over a romance dinner at her and Lena's apartment. She then loses the ring and freaks out. Krypto has it, only he brings the wrong one. He brings the one Lena had planned to give to Kara (which the naughty puppy borrowed as a chew toy- thankfully the ring inside was still safe, if a little slobbered on). Kara accepts and they find Kara's ring for Lena with the puppy toys.


End file.
